We All Have Our Secrets
by alixxblack
Summary: A Stranger in Camelot, Merlin, draws in the attention of Arthur. And Merlin can't help but show off. But in the end, we all have our secrets. {Rated T for suggestive slash, minimum and mild language}


Disclaimer: I am not the BBC, I'm not the writers/producers of Merlin - so I cannot profit from this story. I also must disclosed I used the exact same dialogue from the first episode of Merlin, but...

A/N: I rewatched the first episode of Merlin today (truth be told I started rewatching the entire series for the fourth time this year) and I thought about the second interaction between Merlin and Arthur. I ship Merthur and I just felt like I could rewrite this one single scene... and make the whole show feel different! Someday I actually want to rewrite the whole series in a fanfiction... but that's a fic for another day! Enjoy this one shot that I threw together while my child was at a friend's house today!

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><p>Gaius had sent the young boy, Merlin, out to fetch some very specific herbs. "Down by the river," he'd been directed. So off he went down to the river just outside of Camelot. After being in the stocks all afternoon yesterday all Merlin wanted to do was pretend that he didn't exist.<p>

He - as in Prince Arthur Pendragon, not he as in himself. Merlin was proud of himself, and even if he felt helpless in this new land where magic is the greatest evil, proudness of his talents was not to be lost.

Merlin was struggling with the small basket that he was carrying to keep the Henbane, wormwood, and sorrel separated appropriately. He kept checking a small paper that Gaius sent along for reference to ensure he grabbed the correct ones.

"Damn it all," Merlin grumbled as he dropped the basket. He'd almost filled each compartment and now all of the herbs were on the ground. He bent over with a flustered state to start collecting the herbs back up.

"How's your knee-walking coming along?" An unfortunately familiar voice rings behind Merlin. Arthur knows it was incredibly villainous to have followed the new guy outside of town just to taunt him, but there was something exuding about the brunette stranger that captured the Prince's attention. No, it didn't capture anything. It _demanded_ his attention. It bothered Arthur to not know why.

Merlin chooses to ignore the question. There was no point in degrading himself. And Gaius had warned him to keep out of trouble. With magic as powerful and unpredictable as Merlin's? Staying out of the eye of the public was the only option. As soon as he's managed to get all of the herbs back into the basket, in no particular order albeit, he began walking in the opposite direction.

Arthur could easily be heard following behind as a mock-jogging pace to poke fun at Merlin's sluggish movements, "Aw! Don't run away!"

Arthur eyeballs the young man from top to bottom. The other day he wore a red shirt that made him look innocent and ignorant; an unfortunately accurate statement for many people form the outlying lands. Today, however, he instead adorns a deep blue material that fit very snugly against him. Arthur guesses immediately that it has been a shirt of Merlin's for many years.

It changes his entire demeanor, though, and this is what has caused Arthur to take notice. The darkness of his shirt makes me look serious, even dangerous, in a way that somehow asks Arthur to push the boy's limits. As Arthur continues to pursue this mysterious person, the snapping of a branch under his boots is what eventually elicits a response.

Merlin whirls around with a grimace on his face, not one of discomfort but rather a lack of tolerance, "From you?"

For a second Arthur feels his face soften with regret and Merlin seems to catch it, his own features reflecting a similar calmness. The Prince won't allow for himself to appear weak or influenced by the emotions of others. It would make him weak. Arthur follows up quickly.

"Thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb." But his lax expression and flat tone doesn't reflect any form of sternness whatsoever. Arthur is mildly disappointed in his execution but Merlin bites anyway.

"Look…" He started, "I've told you you're an ass…"

Just then, Merlin steps into him very closely. Arthur winces for a second in shock. Very few men, or women for that matter, have dared to venture so close without direct permission. Merlin then grins at the Prince, "I just didn't realize you were a royal one."

Arthur drops his jaw in surprise. He was beginning to believe that Merlin had learned his place. Much too quickly, if Arthur was honest, but the stranger did not disappointment; for this Arthur was both enraged and excited.

He put his hand over his sword's hilt and flashed what he hoped was a winning smirk, "I could take you apart with one blow." Merlin is still in close proximity so when Arthur leans inward he nearly bumps the boy with his own head. This seems to be less startling to Merlin than it had been to the Prince.

Merlin, as a warlock, simply laughs at Arthur's statement. He also sort of finds amusement at how glaringly close the pair of them had become so quickly. It wasn't just the _actual_ proximity between them, but they were very bonded to one another somehow. Merlin hopes to challenge this conclusion rather than the Prince.

"I could take you apart with less than that." He states.

Arthur keeps his smug grin on his face, and Merlin knows his response before he ever opens his mouth, "Are you sure?"

Merlin leans down sideways and lets go of a basket that Arthur hasn't noticed until he's putting it down. When he stands back up he slips this scarf over his head and lets it fall to the ground. Arthur chuckles before pulling out his sword and pointing it at Merlin's chest.

This is not a fair fight to pick, though, and Arthur realizes this. Merlin watches as he reaches into his belt. He sheaths his giant sword for two daggers instead. He throws one at Merlin, which thuds against the boy's shoulder and then clunks against the floor of the forest; "Here you go." As Merlin crouches as he's picking up the dagger, his eyes not once leaving the Prince's; something he finds unnerving.

"Come on, then," Arthur antagonizes Merlin. The young warlock knows that that this a poor decision on his part, but he cannot voice this truth. So he just straightens himself and wields the dagger limply at his side. Before he can get a word in edgewise, "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."

Arthur was trying to be fair. He switched to a very close combat weapon because he actually carried two of those on his person. The only equalizer he could offer otherwise was the knowledge that he was a knight groomed specifically for battle. Merlin has no chance.

But he opens his mouth anyway, "Wow."

His remark is sincerely anticlimactic. There is nothing but arrogance seething in his words, Merlin was hoping he has been learning from his interactions with the Prince; "And how long have you been training to be a prat?"

Merlin was still down on his feet, knees bent up to his shoulders. Arthur just looks down at him with a strange emotion that ties a knot in his stomach, it erases his thoughts, and all he can think is just one thing… "You _can't_ address me like that."

It is an exasperated tone but it brings Merlin to his full height once more. Although, it is a momentary thing as he offers Arthur the tiniest of bows. It is clearly done in an effort to insult the Prince. Warlock as he is, Merlin felt no horror in the possible consequences…

Arthur makes him regret his cockiness immediately by punching him off-center in the gut. Merlin stumbles backwards but manages to grab Arthur's tunic as he fells into the river. They both drop their daggers before being whipped into the current. When Arthur surfaces he frantically searches for Merlin who is struggling a few feet away from him.

In complete irritation he shouts, "HA! HA!"

Merlin starts grabbing at a low hanging branch, which he falls off of as soon as he seems to have taken hold. Arthur continues taunting the young man, "You're in trouble now!"

Merlin whips around in the water and glares at Arthur who is instantly thrown beneath the waterline. Using sorcery is clearly wrong, especially in front of the Prince of Camelot. He could have Merlin burnt at the stake for even suggesting that he has magic, let alone him actually using it.

When Arthur comes up he slams against a rock before being throw in the other direction by the water. It leads him nearer to Merlin, which is not necessarily a bad thing but they are soon gripping each other by the fringes of their clothing. As they go over a small drop Arthur can be hear complaining, yes, even over the roar of the water, "OW!"

Merlin grins even though he is aware that they need to get out of the water.

"DO YOU WANT TO GIVE UP?" Merlin jokes.

Arthur smiles at the boy's suggestion. It is quite the joke, as he intended it to be, but not quite in exactly the same fashion he's sure the stranger had hoped for; "TO YOU?"

Just then Merlin is able to use his magic to knock a small tree into their path. Merlin then throws his arm up to stop himself form going further, consequently keeping ahold of Arthur as he does so. The Prince is able to pull himself nearer to the tree and follows Merlin out of the river. Once they are on the land again Arthur tackles Merlin and pins him to the ground.

As water drips onto Merlin's face from Arthur's nose, he finds that maybe he wasn't nearly as subtle as he'd thought so moments ago, "Do you…"

Merlin starts but something about Arthur's fury, the way his eyes almost leak with rage, it complete takes the breath out of Merlin. But it's not so much frightening to him as it is enlightening. "Do you want to give up?"

Why not ask, he figures. If Arthur already knows then he might as well not speak vaguely.

_Wait,_ Arthur thinks to himself. Even if he is livid about Merlin's magic he continues to process it slowly before acting, _Let him go._

His mind keeps cranking out his personal thoughts, urging him to ignore the fact that Merlin is a sorcerer, _He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one._

Merlin waits underneath Arthur, wondering what could possibly be going through the Prince's mind. As seconds tick by the warlock cannot help but see the tension melt cautiously away. When Arthur pulls his arms back off of him it provides a tiny window.

Smoothly he is able to sit upright. Arthur gets onto his feet and offers Merlin some assistance getting to his feet. When Merlin accepts, Arthur can't help but feel a warmness spread through his chest. It does no good to lie, not once, not ever. So he admits to himself, _I like him._

"There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it." Arthur chooses not to admit to Merlin that he knows he's got magic. He doesn't reckon this is a proper lie. Instead it's a half-truth. Arthur cannot say what it is about Merlin that makes the Prince want to protect him. All he knows is that he does want to and for that reason he keeps his mouth shut. He just takes off his tunic and hands it to the warlock. Without another word he leaves Merlin behind and returns to Camelot to carry out his usual training regimen with the knights.

Merlin is left alone with the Prince's tunic; he considers putting it on but it's just as soaked as the rest of him. Merlin knows that this was not a kind gesture by the Prince to help keep him from falling ill. It was a gesture of understanding.

"Our little secret, eh, my friend?" Merlin whispers as he saunters back up along the river to where he left the herbs Gaius initially sent him out for…

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><p>AN: Not perfect, but not too shabby, am I right?


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